Flames of Confusion
by Sciroko
Summary: Jimmy realizes how to return to his normal body using a drink that was left by Harley Heartwell a while back. Will he tell Rachel how he feels? Will the drink keep him permanently as Jimmy? Read and find out.


Well, this is my first Fan-Fiction ever! I'm so proud of it! Case Closed has been my favorite anime since the summer of 2003. I fell in love with it as soon as I understood the story line. The show makes me cry every time! It's so sad, Rachel and Jimmy's feelings towards each other and they can't tell the other about it. ï This is the first Chapter of the story "Flames of Confusion" and I hope my school work doesn't get in the way too much so that I can have the next chapter up within a week or two. All the italic font is either Jimmy's or Rachel's thoughts. You will be able to tell who's by what you are reading. I hope everyone likes what they read and that you guys send me reviews!!! If you don't I may stop writing, which I highly doubt. I am a sap for love stories and tragedy stuff and writing this has made me cry every so often and laugh at what I write. Anyways! Enjoy and Please Review!!

Flames of Confusion

Chapter 1: Too Close To Call

It was a long and lonely day at Detective Richard Moore's office. It was only around 12:00 and Conan, Rachel, and Richard had all woken up around 8:00. Business was slow and the clock continued to tick at its normal rate. The seconds that had passed seemed like an eternity as the three sat out on a sofa in the office.

Conan stood, sighed, and walked over to the window, staring out at the street below him. He rested his elbows on the window sill and remembered all the crazy things he had seen as he had been living with the Moore's. He remembered how Rachel had leapt out of that very window to catch a man that she had suspected had kidnapped her friend. He remembered how he walked down that street with Rachel just a few hours after he had become Conan and how Rachel had confessed her love to him, though she didn't know who she was talking to. A small smile appeared on his lips as he chuckled to himself when he remembered how Doctor Agasa had covered for him when Rachel was close to discovering Conan's true identity.

His smile faded. Thoughts poured into his head as he remembered the many times he had seen Rachel sitting in the window sill, staring into the street, tears pouring out of her eyes. He felt his face get hot as Rachel's picture became plastered into his mind. He would never forget her face, never.

A tear ran down his cheek.

_"Damn it. You don't know how I feel, Rachel, what I want to tell you,"_He felt something touch his shoulder and he quickly wiped away the tear. He turned around to find Rachel staring down at him, her eyes full of worry.

"What's wrong, Conan?" She asked him after kneeling down to his height.

"Nothing," He shrugged and looked away, feelings of guilt running through his body. His phone calls didn't even make him feel like himself. He could only become himself through a red bowtie and that was only his voice. He would never be able to tell Rachel his secret.

Rachel wouldn't take 'nothing' for an answer.

"Come on, Conan. I know something is wrong,"

"I miss my mom," he lied badly.

"We can visit her at the hospital if you want to,"

"No! I mean, it's alright," he shook his head to demonstrate his final answer. His mother was not really in the hospital. Fake Conan's mom was a completely made up person. Jimmy's real parents had moved to the United States over four years ago.

"Alright, if you're sure," Rachel replied. She stood and walked over to a chair and pulled it up near Conan and sat next to him. She rested her elbow on the window sill and placed her chin in her palm. She stared out the window as Conan did.

"You know Conan, you aren't the only one who misses someone," Rachel's eyes were fixed on a house down the street. The large house had been the home to a man and his German Shepard. Rachel and Jimmy had always visited the dog that was known as Jack when they were younger. The house was now empty because Jack's owner had trained the dog to kill a college student that was bullying his son when he was in high school and drove him to suicide. The man was now in jail and the dog was moved to live on a farm in the country.

Conan looked into Rachel's face and followed her gaze to the house. He knew what she was thinking and who it was that she missed. She missed him. She missed Jimmy.

Conan nodded and was forced to look down, "I'm sorry Jimmy isn't here," He noted the slight trace of tears in Rachel's eyes and began feeling guilty for her sadness. He wasn't sure if Rachel had heard him. Whether she did or not was out of his hands, he would not repeat it. He walked away from the window and, after passing a sleeping Richard, headed down the hall into his room.

Once in the safety of his small room, he immediately spun around and quickly locked the door. He walked towards a nightstand by his small bed and opened the drawer. A picture album rested inside the drawer.

A sound stopped him from grabbing the book. It was footsteps, Rachel's footsteps. Conan's room was right next to Rachel's. The sound grew louder and then softer. Conan realized that she had gone into her own room.

He turned around and pulled the book out and, after closing the drawer, placed it on the bed. He flipped through the pages to the section noted as "Rachel and Jimmy". Conan viewed the pictures, surprised how many there were including him. Ones when he was young, about 7, and ones when he was 17.

He smiled slightly, missing so much being with Rachel. Sure. He was with her now but not how he really wanted to be with her. He wanted to be himself, Jimmy.

He shut the book and shook his head, disgusted at himself. He shouldn't have this book. He had taken it from Rachel, thinking that there would be pictures of him inside, which there were, so that he could remember what he looked like when he was 17. He enjoyed seeing himself as he was but knew that he had to return the book.

The footsteps were growing closer again and a knock came at the door.

"Conan? Can I come in?"

It was Rachel. Without wasting a second he flung the drawer open and placed the book inside.

"Uh, just a second!" He called before Rachel was able to grasp the doorknob. He ran towards his closet and yanked out an old comic book, one that a seven year old would read. He tossed the book on the bed, ran to the door to unlock it, and then ran back to his bed, laid on it and opened the comic as if he had already been reading it.

"Come in."

The golden doorknob turned and Rachel emerged from the hallway.

"Hey." Rachel greeted, her voice breaking.

"What is it, Rachel?" Conan questioned as Rachel made her way closer to the small boy on the bed. Conan placed the comic book closed on the bed and sat up. Rachel sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Conan, her eyes red. Conan could tell she had been crying and he had a very strong guess as to who she was crying about.

"It's Jimmy, isn't it?" Conan looked into Rachel's eyes and was shot in his heart with pain. He was, therefore, forced to look away.

"Mm-hmm," Rachel nodded, "He hasn't called in a while. I'm getting worried,"

_"It's true. I haven't called her in a while..."_

Rachel turned towards the young boy and created a small smile on her lips. She lifted her hand and patted the child's head.

"I'm sure he'll call soon," Conan replied, not knowing what else to tell her. A large smile appeared on his face, one only Jimmy could pull off.

Rachel smiled bigger, "I know he will," She patted Conan's head one last time and stood. She walked over to the door and, after exiting, shut it behind her softly and continued down the hallway, back into her own room.

Conan sat there on the bed a few minutes after Rachel left. Thoughts scurried across his mind. He wanted to call Rachel but he believed Rachel would be suspicious since she had just told him about it. He shook the thought out of his head and knew that he needed to call. Nothing would stop him.

He opened the door slowly and looked from left to right before exiting his room. He didn't see anyone other than Richard sleeping soundly on the sofa. Conan sighed with relief. He had to get out of the house unseen.

He walked down the hallway after closing his bed room door and passed by Richard who constantly let out many short snores. Richard began grumbling and Conan stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide and locked on Richard, whose eyes were still closed. Conan took another step and Richard didn't move.

With another sigh of relief, Conan took a few more steps towards the front door and grasped the cold metal handle. Without waiting, he turned the knob and pushed the door open, making sure it made no sounds. Other than a soft creak, the door was silent.

Conan stepped out of the building and closed the door being as careful as before to make no noise. He succeeded.

He walked down the staircase and a hot brush of air flew into his face. Once at the bottom of the steps his ears were bombarded by the multiple sounds of the busy Tokyo street. The city never ceased to amaze him. The lights were amazing at night and the shops along the streets were full of interesting artifacts.

After crossing a few streets and about 3 pay phones, he came to the fourth one next to a restaurant. He walked into the tall green booth and reached up towards the phone. He grabbed it after standing on a few phone books that were stacked in the corner of the booth and stuck his free hand into his pocket for his change. He placed a few coins into the slot and dialed the Detective Moore Agency. He held the green phone up to his ear and listened as the phone rang for the first time. Then it hit him.

_"What am I going to say?"_

He was about to hang up the phone after a few moments of thinking and a few rings when the line picked up.

"Hello, Detective Moore Agency." greeted a groggy voice.

"Hi, may I speak to Rachel?"

"Conan? Is that you?" question Richard who had, obviously, awoken from his sleep.

_"How does he know it's me?!"_

He then realized it. He didn't have his bow-tie voice emulator. He was speaking in Conan's voice.

"Sorry! Uh, wrong number!" Conan thought up badly. He slammed the phone down on the hook hard. His body was shaking.

_"How can I call now? Richard may be slow, but he would realize that it really was Conan. If I call in my own voice then Richard may start getting suspicious. I'd better leave it for now."_

Conan walked out of the booth and down the sidewalk back to the office. His mind stopped him a few times but one thought made a shiver run through his entire body.

_"What if I had screwed up worse than that? What would have happened if I had continued my conversation in this stupid kid's voice? What if Rachel had come to the phone and I started speaking as if I really was Jimmy?"_ He continued down the street, his head down and his mind racing with possibilities of his mistake.

"Who was that?" questioned Rachel as she entered the hallway from her room. "And where's Conan?"

"I think it was Conan on the phone," Richard stared at the phone that he had just rested on the table in front of him on the sofa. His eyes were squinted, racking his mind for who was on the phone.

"What do you mean Conan was on the phone? What did he say?"

"He asked to talk to you," Richard leaned back on the sofa and looked up at Rachel, "He didn't say it was him but he hung up as soon as I asked him if he really was Conan."

"I wonder where he is," Rachel spoke under her own breath. She walked towards the door and, after grabbing her jacket from the hook and putting it on, she grasped the door handle and turned it.

"Where are you going?" Richard stood up and walked towards his daughter at the door. Rachel released the handle and walked towards the fridge, not in the mood to explain to her dad where she was headed.

She opened the fridge door and grabbed something from inside. She shut the door and tossed Richard a can of beer. Richard fumbled with the can and, after reading the label, smiled widely and returned to the couch, popping open the seal and sipping it.

"Goodbye, Dad," Rachel went back to the door and twisted the handle once again, this time without her father's questions. She opened the door and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her. She traveled down the stairs and to her right to begin her search for the young boy.

Conan continued to tread down the sidewalk thinking about the conversation he had had just minutes before. He couldn't think anymore. He was so worried about what could have happened than what had actually taken place. His eyes were on the ground as he walked and he wasn't paying attention. He bumped into someone and looked up. The face that met his eyes was familiar.

"Rachel! I'm sorry," Conan moved aside near a shop and looked at Rachel.

"Conan! Where have you been?" Rachel stepped towards the child near the window and knelt down to his size. Her eyes were blazing with anger and Conan racked his mind for a reasonable answer.

"I had to run to George's house. He wanted to show me something but when I got to his house no one was home,"

_"That ought to do it,"_

"You don't say. I always thought the George's house was that was," Rachel pointed behind her where she had come from.

_"Shoot! She's right but if I'm not mistaken Mitch's house is..."_

"Did I say George's? I meant Mitch's!" he pointed to the direction where he had recently come and hoped Rachel would buy it. She did.

"Alright, just make sure that next time you leave you warn me or dad. I was worried about you,"

Conan nodded and began walking back towards the house. Rachel stood and followed by his side. She reached out her hand and Conan grasped it. He felt her warmth rush through his body and he liked it. They continued down the sidewalk, a smile plastered on each of their faces.

_"I'll have to try again tomorrow,"_


End file.
